Shaun Murphy hits back at Kyren Wilson 'old man' jibe as Masters winner labels post-match comments 'unnecessary'

Shaun Murphy says some of Kyren Wilson's post-match comments after the Masters final were "unnecessary" but has laughed off an age jibe.

The veteran lifted his second Masters title, a decade after his first, despite going into the Triple Crown event as an outsider with the bookies - playing some magical snooker along the way, including a sensational 147 break against Mark Allen in the semi-finals. The 42-year-old looked unstoppable in the afternoon session of his final with world champion Wilson, racing into a 6-2 lead - before being made to sweat in the evening, eventually coming out 10-7 winner.

However comments to MC Rob Walker from 33-year-old Wilson immediately after his defeat saw him accused of being bitter by fans. The Warrior said: "I just made it too easy for Shaun, you can't do that with how well Shaun has been playing this week. But I proved why I'm the world champion I fought as hard as I could. A lot of people would've written me off. But every credit to Shaun making a century to finish for the fans." And he added: "No disrespect to Shaun but he's turned into an old man now, so he needs this more than me. I'm 33-years-old and coming into my prime, I'm having an amazing season."

Speaking on The Onefourseven Snooker Podcast, Murphy responded: "I’ve seen a lot of talk about it as well on my social media pages there has been a lot of chatter about it. I think that Kyren conducts himself well as a world champion, I think he carries that mantle of expectation, the weight of expectancy from the sport, I think he gives back. He gets involved in everything he’s asked to.

"He’s a really good world champion and a good role model. I think that he does very well. There were a couple of things he said in the post-match